The Ontario Chamber of Commerce

Competitive Advantages

Identifying, championing, and investing in Ontario’s competitive advantages in the global economy

Ontario’s economy is undergoing rapid evolution. New growth sectors for the provincial economy, including healthcare, technology, and information and communications are replacing areas of traditional economic strength. The provincial government needs to support this transition through effective policy.

The Good News…

• Health care, technology and information and communications have been identified by the business community as top growth sectors
• The industrial infrastructure of the manufacturing sector can be leveraged to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the green economy
• Knowledge sector industries such as ICT and business and financial services are growing substantially (5% and 15% of the provincial labour force, respectively)
• Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire is hailed as the most promising mining opportunity in Canada in a century
• Ontario sits directly above 21% of the world’s fresh water stores, and the ‘blue economy’ (defined as the technology and tools to conserve, treat, measure, monitor and manage water) is a $500 billion global business

The Challenges…

• Business and civic leaders expect the manufacturing and automotive sectors to decline
• Maximizing opportunities from the Ring of Fire will require consultation with Aboriginal peoples and a variety of stakeholders, as well as adequate infrastructure, energy supply and environmental stewardship
• There is a significant missed opportunity within Ontario’s education and training system to target government programs towards skills deficits and emerging sectors of Ontario’s economy
• Ontario’s emerging water technology companies lack a coherent industry strategy to attract investors and expose their products to new clients

How do we identify, champion, and invest in our competitive advantages?

1. Reorient public policy and public investment: emphasize promising sectors where Ontario could have a competitive advantage
2. Maximize resource development: ensure that investments in the Ring of Fire generate the greatest benefits for Ontario
3. Facilitate sustainable development of natural resources: economic transition to high tech, knowledge intensive industries will be subject to new opportunities and standards, and will require buy-in from Aboriginal and environmental communities
4. Maximize the blue economy: push the development of a global blue economy summit; a gathering place for established and emerging water technology firms to scope out a vision for the future of the industry

Visit the Advocacy section of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce website to see how Health Care and Ring of Fire can be seen as examples of Ontario’s competitive advantages.